An Unequal Treaty:World Trading Order After GATT

The principal outcome of the Uruguay Round of Trade Negotiations was the Treaty establishing the World Trade Organisation (WTO). This Treaty incorporates agreements and understandings which provide for new rules of the game in international trade, also in new areas such as services, TRIPS* and TRIMs which had remained outside the purview of GATT. The treaty also restricts the choices of developing countries in the world trading order and severely limits the fexibility they used to enjoy in the traditional GATT regime.

Here, the motivating forces behind the launching of the Uruguay Round of trade negotiations and the economic and political factors which shaped the agenda and determined the course of these negotiations, have been assessed from the perspective of the developing countries, particularly India. The institutional implications of the WTO have been brought out. An attempt has been made to suggest how the developing countries can best cope with the challenge of the new world trading order and to use to their advantage the flexibility provided in the texts of the agreements included in the Final Act. In the concluding chapter, the critical choices to be made by India have been elucidated and strategies for future negotiations have been outlined.